Today’s passage: “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” II Corinthians 7:10
These days, repentance appears to be an outdated idea that has gone by the wayside. In courts, murderers and rapists have been known to receive lighter sentences by sharing touching stories of how they were abused as children and how this abuse relieves them of any personal responsibility for their current actions. Students are taught warped Freudian views that defend sexual deviancy as part of our nature and often as a necessary part of our growth process as opposed to deeming it sin. Ridiculously, even restaurants must ensure that their to-go coffee cups include warning labels to reduce lawsuits from clumsy consumers because they are not willing to take responsibility for spilling their own coffee on themselves!
What a world this has become where everyone else is responsible for our sins. How often do we catch ourselves stating that we said or did something wrong only because “you did (insert the “guilty” person’s action) first and made me (mad/upset/throw a skillet)”. It seems to be our nature to react to accusation by passing the buck to someone else. Divorce attorneys have their work cut out for them as clients commit adultery and then seek to divorce their spouses all the while plotting to avoid the payment of alimony and attempting to gain control of the home and other possessions, when they are the ones at fault. I have been privy to a family divorce in which the partner who was faithful and determined to make the marriage work was not allowed to declare the spouse’s unfaithfulness as the reason for the divorce. Apparently, “irreconcilable differences” was a nicer term to the courts than adultery.
God spoke through the prophet Isaiah to the children of Israel, condemning them of their unwillingness to be honest and to speak with integrity. “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things. No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments and speak lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.” Isaiah 59:1-4
What this nation needs is to return to our roots by spending time in God’s Word. Can we expect to be known as a Christian nation if many of us do not even know what the Bible says? The name “Christian” is not merely a title but the position itself. To be known as being of Christ, we must believe and obey what He commands and that includes examining ourselves, acknowledging all guilt and repenting of our sins.
To take inventory of our spiritual life, we must examine our actions by comparing them to the standard: God’s Word. Our standard is not other Christians but is in fact Christ Himself. The examination of our actions includes testing our beliefs to ensure that they are found in Scripture. If we are found to be lacking in anything, we must take note of it as Paul wrote to the church at Corinth: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” II Corinthians 13:5. Paul personally served as an example of this self-examination: “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”
If we are not willing to take inventory for fear of what we will find, we can be assured that Christ will do so when He returns. “If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.” I Corinthians 3:12-14 and “[Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Luke 3:16-17
After noting our sins, we are required to confess them and acknowledge our guilt as in the following Scriptures. "O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.” Ezra 9:6. “Therefore confess your sins to each other so that you may be healed.” James 5:16. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9.
Finally, we are commanded to repent of our sins and seek forgiveness. Confession and repentance seem to be the most difficult for us to do, perhaps because of the pride we feel as human beings and the lack of faith in God to take care of us when we obey. Perhaps part of the reason for such an unwillingness to accept guilt lies within the misinterpretation of the term “repentance”. Many believe that repentance and asking for forgiveness are synonymous but in fact, they are not. Repentance is not merely the asking of forgiveness, but instead it is an action caused by a pricking of the heart such as in Acts 2:38-39. To repent is to feel such deep remorse that forgiveness is sought and steps are made to stop committing the sin. Repentance is an active change and not the thought only. II Timothy 2:19 contains God’s command to repent or “turn away from” sin: “Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”
Further proof that repentance involves the turning away from sin is found in Acts 26:20: “First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.” Jesus also warned that we must repent in order to escape punishment: “…But unless you repent, you too will all perish." Luke 13:5. Peter informed the multitudes of Jews on the day of Pentecost that they required repentance and baptism in order to receive the forgiveness of sins in Acts 2:38: “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”
If as God’s people, we are willing to exhibit Christianity by admitting our faults, seeking forgiveness by God and by others when we err, and turning away from these sins to follow God, we can do much good in the world and glory will be given to the Lord. If we, instead, are too afraid or proud to readily admit our mistakes or seek to justify them by blaming others, we will only succeed in bringing shame to Christ by wearing His name. Only by true repentance can we share Christ’s love to others and make them want to follow Him by watching us. May our nation become a "Christian nation" again beginning with each of us.
Dear sisters, may you all have a blessed week!
